by Mark Burch

Created on: January 26, 2009

Does the Miami Heat need fixing, or just more time to rebuild and hit their stride? The Miami Heat won the NBA championship just a few short years ago with Alonzo Mourning, Dwayne Wade, and Shaquille O'Neal. Mourning retired just this week, O'Neil has moved on to another team, and Dwayne Wade is recovering nicely from injuries suffered last year. They are now a much younger team, with a new coaching staff, and headed in the right direction.

Winning the NBA championship is not something that can be purchased. You can enhance your chances with big ticket trades, but that sometimes upsets the balance of the team. The coaching staff for Miami are constantly looking for players that will compliment Dwayne Wade, and so far they have brought in some very talented new faces to do just that. The current roster has the talent to win against any team in the league, they now must learn to win the close games, to have the confidence to keep pounding away night after night. It's a delicate balance of skills, talent, egos, and the belief that your team mates are all in it to win it. Once this team gels into one complete unit and plays unselfish basketball, better things will happen, and the wins will come with them.

As for how the team plays, I like the aggressiveness, the tempo, and how they control the game to their advantage. This team isn't one dimensional like some others. The Heat can play fast tempo, full court, or a full control game depending on the opponent, the score, or the time remaining on the clock. I like how they mix up the defensive schemes, and constantly rotate new players into the game whenever possible to grab an advantage. Although I do believe they rely on Dwayne Wade too much down the stretch or when they are behind, so far Dwayne Wade has come through for the most part, and has lived up to his comparison to Michael Jordan.

Bottom line: the Miami Heat are once again getting better. They have an amazing arena in downtown Miami, a great owner, and a potentially great coach. Once all these elements mature all will be good again in Miami. As I said earlier, you can't purchase a championship. It takes more than talent, it takes dedication, strength, a belief in yourself and your team mates, and most importantly, a bit of luck. Playing in the right division, getting home court advantage, reducing injuries, and your schedule all play parts in the luck factor along with a few buzzer beating shots thrown in for good measure. The Miami Heat will soon be division leaders again, just wait and see.

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